The ex-fiance of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas was sharply criticized in court Monday by a judge who questioned who she wanted to represent her in a defamation suit filed against her former flame.
The remarks by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Fahey came after he issued tentative rulings denying a motion by Laura Govan’s attorney, Michael Heicklen, to dismiss Arenas’ lawsuit against her and granting the plaintiff’s motion to begin the default process against her.
Fahey, who took both motions under submission, said Govan had caused uncertainty regarding whether Heicklen was representing her on all matters concerning the Arenas lawsuit or only some of them.
“Ms. Govan just doesn’t get it,” Fahey said. “This is a real serious case. There seems to be a shell game with the lawyers, She better wake up.”
Govan, 36, showed no reaction to the judge’s remarks.
Govan had a role in the 2011 VH1 reality show “Basketball Wives LA.” She is the younger sister of actress and television personality Gloria Govan, who was herself in the middle of a romantic triangle between her estranged husband, former Laker Matt Barnes and his onetime Los Angeles teammate, Derek Fisher.
Arenas sued Govan last fall. The Oct. 6 suit alleges that after Arenas ended their relationship, she caused several websites to post false information that he infected her with sexually transmitted diseases in retaliation for his announced intention to take back the car she was driving and the home where she was living.
The Arenas suit states that Govan sent him an email on Sept. 22 that stated, “When I left you it was because I couldn’t take the STDs.”
Govan then “caused the defamatory email to be distributed” to various websites, bloggers and media outlets knowing that they would publish it, according to the lawsuit.
Govan and Arenas have four children and her claims for financial support for them have been litigated in a separate action in family law court.
Fahey told Heicklen that he was having trouble keeping track of the lawyer’s representation of Govan, noting that in February she appeared in court representing herself. Heicklen replied that his client and Arenas also were involved in the family law matter and that there was some uncertainty how much he could represent her in the defamation case because of the costs.
Heicklen said he was representing Govan Monday in the dismissal motion, but not on the Arenas effort to begin the default process against her. After some discussion, Fahey allowed Heicklen to argue on her behalf on both motions.
Elaborating on his tentative rulings, Fahey said Govan’s dismissal motion was filed too late and not well-taken. He said he was leaning toward granting the Arenas motion regarding a possible default because Govan allegedly ignored a court order to respond to written questions from Arenas’ attorney.
But Heicklen argued that once his client filed the dismissal motion, future matters were frozen pending the outcome, including Arenas’ default motion.
Arenas’ lawyer, Michael Murphy, said the Govan dismissal motion was filed was to delay the case. He said Heicklen or Govan needed the court’s permission to put the case on hold.
In March 2015, Govan sued Arenas, alleging he broke a promise to support her financially. The former couple met in 2003 when Arenas was a member of the Golden State Warriors.
While a member of the Washington Wizards, Arenas, now 34, was suspended for most of the 2009-10 season for storing four unloaded guns in the Verizon Center locker room.
— Wire reports